Prime Minister Gaston Browne says his government is deliberately repositioning Antigua and Barbuda’s tourism sector as a high-value national development engine designed to deliver inclusive growth, deeper local participation and long-term sustainability, rather than simply higher visitor arrivals.
Speaking at the World Government Summit in Dubai, Browne said tourism, while long central to the country’s economy, could no longer operate as an enclave industry disconnected from the wider society.
“For too long, tourism was treated as an enclave industry—successful in generating arrivals and revenues, yet insufficiently integrated into the wider economy,” Browne said.
He said the government is now intentionally transforming the tourism product into a high-value offering with strong linkages to construction, agriculture, creative industries, transportation, financial services and small business development, allowing more Antiguans and Barbudans to participate meaningfully in the sector.
Browne said success in tourism will no longer be measured by arrivals alone, but by outcomes such as domestic ownership, entrepreneurship, livable wages, increased visitor spend, foreign exchange earnings and equitable tax revenues.
“Growth alone will no longer serve as the exclusive measure of success,” he said, adding that the inclusion of local inputs and domestic participants across multiple sectors will be essential in determining future performance.
He said the government is purposefully attracting luxury tourism investments as part of a broader effort to reposition Antigua and Barbuda as a premier high-end destination, while also encouraging existing all-inclusive properties to upgrade their offerings and deliver greater value.
According to Browne, these benefits will not occur automatically and require what he described as a national reset of the tourism sector, supported by deliberate policy choices, infrastructure investment and human capital development.
“Tourism is therefore not merely a sectoral activity,” he said. “It is a national development strategy—touching infrastructure, culture, environmental stewardship, skills development and inclusive growth.”
Browne said the central challenge facing small island states is designing tourism-driven economies that deliver resilient growth, shared prosperity and long-term sustainability in the face of global economic, environmental and technological change.